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OS KIDS 




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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



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us KIDS 



Copyriiht 1910 

By Courtney Ryley Cooper 

Us Kids 



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Kansas City. Mo. 

Kellogg- Baxter Printing Co. 

Ill West 8th Street 



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CONTENTS 



L'ENTRE 9 

THE TEMPTATION M 

CARRYIN' IN TH' WOOD .... 12 

TH" SLIPPERY ELM TREE f5 

DAY DREAMS 18 

THE ROSE IS RED 21 

THE AFTERMATH 22 

WHEN 1 GROW UP 25 

WHEN TH' NEXT TIME COMES . . .27 

IN TH' FALL 2fi 

THRESHIN' TIME 31 

WHEN TH' PREACHER CAME . . .33 

THE MONTH BEFORE CHRISTMAS ... 35 

- 3 - 



CONTENTS— Continued 

FISHIN* 37 

THE WATERLOO 38 

WHEN YOU'RE WEARIN SUNDAY CLOTHES . 41 

FIRECRACKERS 45 

SPOOKS . . .... 46 

TH' SWIMMIN' POOL 48 

WHEN MOMMER S SICK IN BED ... 50 

SPEAKIN' TIME 53 

NEXT WEEK 56 

THE LOP EARED PUP . .... 58 

AFTER SCHOOL 61 

RETROSPECT 62 



4 - 



TO ETHEL. 

This is just a book of nonsense, 

Just a little book of verse. 
I'm sure it could be better — 

(You've said it might be worse), 
And for those words of kindness, 

For that indulgent view. 
May I be bold and dedicate 

This little book to you? 

— Courtney Ryley Cooper. 



5 - 



AND NOW- 



L'ENTRE. 

Just a sackful of crawdads, a collarless shirt, 

Just a towhead of closely clipped hair, 
Just a small pair of hands, rough, covered with dirt, 

Just some freckles — two feet that were bare. 
Ah, the visions I saw. And always, it seemed, 

I would live in that childhood of joy; 
With my fairy tale thoughts, with the hopes that I 
dreamed, 

But, you see, I was only a boy. 

E'en in school I was good, just as good as could be, 

Why, always my lessons I learned; 
And I'd wait after hours, just so I might see 

Once more her for whom my heart yearned. 
She was pretty and fair, not too timid — nor bold, 

How I struggled to keep my love hid. 
For she was my teacher, quite thirty years old. 

While I — I was only a kid. 



- 9 - 



THE TEMPTATION. 

Plowin' th' forty, it's harder'n rock, 

Flies is just thicicer'n sin. 
There's dust in my throat an' clods in my sock, 

Don't see how they ever got in. 
Th' kids in th' road is a-startin' somewhere. 

Gee whiz, look at Jimmie McKee — 
They're goin' a-swimmin' 'cause Bill over there 

Is wigglin' two fingers at me. 

Aw g'wan, come haw! Ain't you got eriny sense? 
Run into th' stump then, you fool ! 

Never saw nothin' that'd ever commence 

To be half as dumb as a mule. 
Still ten acres left — o' course they're th' worst, 

An' me just a-dyin' to be 
A-slidin' th' slides, or divin' head first — 

Bill's wigglin' them fingers at me. 

There's Paw comin' 'long, v/onder now if he might 

Let me go if I got awful sick? 
Bet your boots just as soon as I got outa sight 

I'd begin gettin' v/ell mighty quick. 
I'll groan a whole lot an' get all doubled up ; 

I b'lieve he's beginnin' to see. 
So I'll just look as sick as a bad pisoned pup — 

Them fingers do wonders with me ! 



- 11 



CARRYIN' IN TH' WOOD. 

I kin hear Bill Jenkins whistle, jus' a-signalin' to me 
To go out paw-paw huntin' or to climb th' 'simmon 

tree. 
Or play th' games th' other kids is playin' down th" 

road, 
But, gee, I'm workin' — I can't come, I'm packin' in 

this load 
O' heavy kindlin' I jus' cut, O-o-o-o-o, gosh, I wish 

I could, 
But I kin hear Maw callin: "Jim, you carryin' in 

that wood?" 

All through th' week I pester Maw an' ask to get 

away 
With all th' other kids I know, gee whiz! I wanta 

play 
So bad my mouth jus' waters when I hear 'em laugh 

an' shout; 
But I alius gotta mend th' stile, or turn th' horses 

out, 
Or paint th' fence or milk th' cow or fix th' buggy 

hood, 
An' when all o' that is over, why, I gotta chop th' 

wood. 



12 




— OM-^^iH — 



An' Maw don't smile th' least bit when I ast her if 
I may 

Go out fer jus' an hour or two, it's "wait 'til Sat- 
urday." 

An' then, when Saturday comes round, she finds a 
new excuse 

To keep me in, th' pigs is out or else th' calves is 
loose. 

Then she'll promise me a dime 'r two — some day if 
I'll be good, 

But all so far I've ever got is carryin* in th* wood. 

Th' kids is still a whistlin'. Tommy's beckonin' to 

me, 
Maw's way down by th' spring house, huh, I wonder 

if she'll see 
My coat tails as I'm runnin'. Gee, I'm goin'! Bet 

she'll tear 
Th* hide clean offen me tonight, sure'n ennything 

she'll wear 
Th* buggy whip out on me, but supposin' that she 

should — 
A lickin's whole lot better'n carryin' in th' wood. 



- 14 — 



TH' SLIPP'RY ELM TREE. 

Out over th' fence, by th' pasture po"*!. 
Where th' cows is drinkin*, then way beyond; 
Shin under th' hedge to th' timothy patch 
An' cut 'way across; lift th' big gate's latch, 
Then down th' long road to th' timber line — 
(In there with th' leaves an' th' breeze it's fine)— 
Have a mighty good time along with me; 
I'm goin' down to th' slipp'ry elm tree. 

Pick a bunch o' wild grapes along th' road. 
Shy rocks at th' croak of a big tree toad 
Kerslam! down th' hill an' wade in th' crick, 
An' look at th' place where th' mare got sick. 
Then see if there's eggs in th' ol' crow's nest. 
An' stretch straight out for a good, long rest — 
If I turn my head just a bit, I'll see 
Th' piece I'll pull of fen th' slipp'ry elm tree. 

Some'll go in my pocket, a piece or two, 
I'll lay to one side just to have to chew 
When I'm goin' back home, don't guess it'll hurt 



W 




- chA'Pin — 



If I stick some chunks in my gingham shirt- 
It's fun a-fishin' or shootin' squirrels 
Or playin' postofiice, an' kissin' girls, 
But still, all th' same, I'd just as soon be 
Scrapin' th' bark from th' slipp'ry elm tree! 



- VJ 



DAY DREAMS. 

It's funny how th' giants an' th' dwarfs an' other 

things, 
An* great big dragons gushin' smoke from out their 

nose in rings, 
Kin always be so gentle when they're plastered on 

a page, 
In some kind of a fairy tale — no matter how they 

rage— 
They just can't jump er bite you, they've gotta stay 

an' look 
Jus' mean an' cross an' fussy when they're in a fairy 

book. 

My Mommer's alius telling me about th' things 

they do, 
About th' little girls they eat an' boys they bite in 

two — 



18 



How giants live in drefful caves, with dragons all 

about — 
(Mom says that once you're in there, you never can 

get out), 
Then she tells me 'bout th' Doo-dad an' the Specti- 

caligoox — 
But, gee, those things don't scare me' cause they 

only live in books. 

I wish that I could meet a great big dragon er an eli, 
Er a Bogie man that's just so mean he nearly scares 

hisself. 
I'd get a great big fairy book an' open it up wide. 
An' sneak up close an' shut it, so th' dragon'd be 

inside, 
I wouldn't scare a teenty bit, at howls er growls er 

wails ; 
I'd know he'd have to stay right in that book o' 

fairy tales! 



19 - 



THE ROSE IS RED— 

I got a girl named Susie, 
An' I've bought her a Valentine, 

With reg'lar lace an' th' fixin's, 
Cost a mighty big lot — a dime. 

She lives in th' house down yonder, 
With th' big green window blines. 

There's just a whole bunch o' fellers 
That's a-sending her Valentines. 

But I know that mine's lot's better 
Than those Jim er Eddie er Pearl 
Is sendin', so I've just marked it: 
'From your very best sweetheart. Earl. 



21 



THE AFTERMATH. 

If I could only sneak inside, 

An' hurry up th' stairs, 
I'd even pass th' bogie place 

An' wouldn't mind the bears. 
But Mommer's waitin' 'hind th' door — 

Jus' tapped me on th' head 
An' said I'd have t' wash my feet 

Afore I come to bed. 

Gee whiz ! Why, I've been swimmin' twice 

An' wadin' in th' slew, 
An' what's th' use o' cleanin' up 

All day an' night time too. 
'Sides that, nobody'll see me, 

I told Ma that; she said 
Real cold an' calm an' solemn like: 

"Then you don't come to bed." 



- 22 - 



Oh, I'm so just all-fired sleepy, 

I hardly see th' moon. 
It's bigger'n blazes too at that, 

Be sky high purty soon. 
Guess I've gotta go an' do it, 

Gosh, my toe's all sor'n red, 
It'll hurt like fire to scrub it now. 

Afore I go to bed. 

O-o-o-o-o! That cistern water's shiv'ry, 

Th' goose-bumps everywhere 
Is bustin' out all over me, 

They're even in my hair. 
Whew, that ol' lye soap's a-stingin', ' 

I'd just as soon be dead. 
As have to wash my feet this way 

Afore I go to bed. 



-24 



V/HEN I GROW UP. 

Guess I'll be a pirate when I get grown 
An' sail aroun' an' do a lot o' things. 

An' I'll have a fortune all my own, 

With piles o' gold an' diamond studded ringSv 

Guess I'll be a miner an' dig for coal, 
An' have a little lantern on my hat. 

Still I wouldn't have much when I got old — - 
No, siree, you won't catch me doin' that! 

Guess I'll be a robber an' v/ear a gun, 
Nobody'd ever catch me when I hid* 

Don't like that idea, alius on th' run. 
Be a mighty lonesome feller if I did. 

Guess I'll stick to farmin', right here at home, 
A-startin' when th' crows begin to caw 

To workin' in th' wheat field, an' not roam, 
An' be an ordinary man like Paw. 



85 — 



'■ ■ ^HlMWhii 







WHEN THE NEXT TIME COMES. 

Played hookey today, had a mighty good time, 
Played hookey today an' th' water was fine. 
Got all tangled up in an ol' hook an' line 
An' a big jagged rock bumped that sore toe o' mine, 
Played hookey today. 

Played hookey today. Maw looked at my hair 
An' wondered what made all that dampness up there, 
An' I told her I'd sweated from chasin' th' mare 
In th' pasture. I lied, but then I didn't care, 
Played hookey today. 

Played hookey today, then went to th' shed 
Where Maw spanked me good an' sent me to bed, 
Said I'd been a bad boy, that's just what she said, 
Next time I go swimmin', I won't wet my head. 
Played hookey today. 



- 21 - 



IN THE FALL. 

Just a quail er so a-pipin' an' "Bob Whitin' " down 

th' lane, 
Just a rustlin' o' th' breezes in th' field o' sugar cane, 
Just some barkin' squirrels a-hoppin' 'bout th' 

branches o' th' trees, 
Or a-hidin' in th' fadin', slowly colorin' autumn 

leaves — 
Every ray o' sunshine's happiness, each drop o' 

dew's a jewel; 
But, gosh, I can't enjoy 'em 'cause I've gotta go to 

school ! 

Th' school-house road's all dusty, 'bove th' sumac 

bushes red 
I kin hear a turtle dove er two a-cooin' overhead; 
In th' kaffir fields th' blackbirds is a-chatterin' busily 
As they're gobblin' up th' kernels — Oh, gee whiz, 

it seems to me 
That when everything gets pretty, when th' 

weather's crisp an' cool. 
That bottom just drops out o' things — I've gotta go 

to school. 



28 - 










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Then* th* air's so soft an hazy ; seems a kinda filmy 
veil 

That's a-shieldin' th' unpleasant things, while down 
there in th' dale 

Th' goldenrod's all bloomin', why its yellow blos- 
soms spread 

A sorta halo all around, an' rays from overhead 

Of a mornin' sun that's beamin' makes me stubborn 
as a mule 

To think I've gotta give it up an' trudge along to 
school. 

Huh, I wonder who that is I see, a-hurryin' down 
th' road, 

She must be late er sompin', an' just looky at th* 
load 

O' heavy books she's luggin*, well, who is she any« 
way? 

Oh, gee golly, it's Matildy, an' we fussed just yes- 
terday. 

Still, she's smilin*, so forgivin* — (guess I acted like 
a fool; 

I wonder ef she*d let me tote her books along to 
school). 



30 - 



THRESHIN' TIME. 

There's blisters on my hands an' there's blisters on 

my feet, 
Life ain't no doggoned picnic when you're out a- 

pitchin' wheat, 
When th' merc'ry's bustin' up an' th' sun's a-bustin' 

down, 
An' th' wheat's a pilin' up just everywhere around. 

Derned ol' thresher's spittin' straw an' th' engine's 

spittin' fire 
An' th' dinged ol' waggin driver piles th' shocks up 

higher'n higher. 
No, sir, ain't a thing to life 'cept just tarnation 

complete — 
I'd rather be a measly pup than out a-pitchin' wheat. 



- 31 



WHEN THE PREACHER CAME. 

Had chicken today 'cause th' preacher was there, 
An' so was th' schoolma'am an' Billy O'Hare, 
An' a whole lot o' others, dad said to me: "Heck^ 
When it comes round your turn, you jus' ask £er 
< th' neck." 

Had chicken today an' we started to eat, 

(When I'd gotten my chair off th' preacher's big 

feet.) 
An' I got het up ; passed my plate 'fore th' rest — 
Forgot what Dad told me an' asked for th' breast! 

Well, Maw looked at me an' went straight in th' air, 
While Paw's face got purple an' Billy O'Hare 
Spilled gravy all down his new pink an' white shirt — 
Then I got a lickin', Law Sakes, but it hurt J 

If there's chicken again, you just bet I won't care 
If th' preacher er schoolma'am or who all is there — 
When Dad stops his carvin' an' says to me : "Heck." 
I'll jus' start a shoutin': "Dad, gimme th' neck!" 



~ 33 - 



THE MONTH BEFORE CHRISTMAS. 

Deer Santa Claus, if you'll bring me a sled, 
Or a big train o' cars (or a shotgun instead), 
An' a new pair o' boots an' a fine set o' skates 
An' some oranges an' candy an' all stuck up dates, 
Then a real leather saddle, a bridle to boot — 
Guess I'll need a tin horn for a big Christmas toot — 
You might bring me a harp an' a ik-cordee-an 
An' a drum — so I'll grow up to be in th' band — 
Then I want a new hat an' a new hickory shirt — 
Th' one I got las' year's just all over dirt. 
Say, I need a new baseball, a glove an' a bat. 
Whatever you do, please now, don't forget that! 
Oh, yes, sompin else, got some rattlin' bones 
Like they had in th' show? Well, that's all — ^Johnny 
Jones. 



- 34 



p. S. Never mind about bringin' that sled, 
Mebbe Billy Clarke needs it, you know he's sick in 

bed. 
An' th' cars an' th' shotgun an' saddle an' things — 
Guess you better just take them to poor Jimmy 

King's. 
Why, he ain't had a Christmas since I don't know 

when; 
They're poorer'n a churchmouse, an' after that, then 
Just sneak round to Blakes with th' harp an' th' 

drum, 
An' the ik-cordee-an ; Pete'd make th' house hum, 
He'd just be so tickled. Th' hickory shirt? 
'Twouldn't fit me as well as it would Charley Burt, 
An' say, Willie Toll needs a baseball an' bat 
An' a glove an' a pony; forgot all about that. 
Guess all that I want is them rattlin' bones, 
An' some candy an' stuff, an' th' dates — ^Johnny 

Jones. 



- 35 - 



FISHIN' 

Well, what's th' matter anyhow, 

Doggone it all, what's v^^rong? 
I haven't had a nibble. 

Been a-fishin' awful long. 
Ain't even been a ripple 

Round th' cork, now that ain't right 
Fer me to be so patient an' 

Not get a single bite. 

This crick's jus' full o' sunfish, 

Must a-gotten mighty wise, 
Th' way they've been a-shyin', 

Guess I'll have ter tell some lies 
About jus' how th' line broke 

When I alnios' caught a whale> 
(Seems awful fer a country kid 

Ter tell a city tale.) 

Never saw a cork so still like, 

Hasn't moved a single time, 
Since I came sneakin' up here 

An* loosened up my line. 
Perhaps th' worm ain't wigglin', 

Guess I'd better take a look — 
Well, if that don't beat all Hemlock ; 

I fergot to bait th' hook! 



- 37 - 



THE WATERLOO. 

Walkin' home with Mamie, jus' wanderin' sorta 

slow, 
Walkin' home with Mamie, not carin' where we go ; 
Stutterin' kinda sometimes, hones' can yuh blame 

me, 
Fer gettin' sorta fussed up, a-walkin' home with 

Mamie? 

Golly, but she's pretty, lips so soft an' full an' red, 
To me her yeller pigtails is braids o' gold instead, 
Nose a wee bit freckled, cheeks so pink an' flamey, 
Life's sure mighty ticklish, a-walkin' home with 
Mamie. 

Walkin' home with Mamie, an' my heart's a-beatin' 

fast. 
I could see her always, an' still love her to th' last. 
Gosh, I'm goin'ter kiss her, O-o-o-o-o-o, she called 

me Jamie! 
I'm jus' bubblin' with affection, a-walkin' home with 

Mamie. 



38 - 




- i.-nAtin - 



Lordy, but my face hurts, an' my cheeks is redder*n 

sin, 
My right ear's jus' nigh tore off, my mouth is all 

caved in. 
Yep, I tried to kiss her, Wow, she did b'lay me ! 
Never catch me 'nother time, a-walkin' home with 

Mamie ! 



40- 



V/HEN YOU'RE WEARIN' SUNDAY 
CLOTHES. 

Th' bumble bees is bumblin' an' a-buzzin' 'round 

th' nest 
That's just outside th' picket fence, an' gee! it*s 

just th' best 
or fun to fight like blazes, just to keep from bein' 

stung — 
Er juggin' 'em an' hear 'em buzz an' then go down — 

ker-chung ! 
But I ain't out a-fightin', neither's Bill er Jake er 

Mose — 
Huh, gotta go to meetin' an' we're wearin' Sunday 

clothes. 

Th' pears is just a rustlin' on th' branches o' tb' 
trees, 

An' th' smell o' ripenin' apples comes floatin' on th' 
breeze, 

V/ith th' cooin' of th' turtle doves below th' swim- 
min' pool 

Where it's nice an' still an' shady an' th' water's 
good an' cool; 

Doggone it all, we just can't budge! It's awful, 
goodness knows. 

To have to stay in just because you're wearin' Sun- 
day clothes. 



41 



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My pore ol' feet is burnin' an' my face is redder*n 
fire'n' 

This dinged ol' collar's chokin' me, my cricky; bet 
it's higher'n 

Th' tower o' th' church house where we gotta go 
today, 

An' these pants! I just can't move in 'em. I 
wonder anyway 

Why folkses want to frill me up with stuff an' fur- 
belows — 

Gosh, life just ain't worth livin' when you're wearin' 
Sunday clothes! 



43 - 



FIRECRACKERS. 

Wisht I knew just what was in 'em. 

What makes *em bang that way, 
\Vhen th' fizzlin' string's all burnt up 

An' th' noise begins to play. 
Firecrackers sure is funny, 

Some is red an' some is green — 
Outside, 'cause all that poppin' part 

Is where it can't be seen. 

One time I got a big un an' 

I held it in my hand, 
So I c'd look real close-like when 

Th' poppin' part began. 
Then th' doctor came to see me. 

You betcher life I cried, 
'Cause it's got an awful temper — 

That poppin' part inside. 



~ 45 



SPOOKS. 

Come, climb on my knee and I'll tell you a yarrt 
Of the creepy old things that hide in the barn; 
It's all about ghosts, hobgoblins and spooks 
That lurk in the corners, the crannies and nooks, 
I'd reach out and grab, just as you're passing by^ 
Not a bit do they care if you whimper and cry. 
For they're skinny and scrawny and terribly clad— 
They're just there to catch little boys who are bad. 

Then the spookses will carry you far, far away. 
To a cave in the mountains and there you must stay 
*Til at night when it's dark, uncanny and cold. 
Then the goblins '11 come to that cavern so old ; 
They'll lop off your ears an' they'll cut off your nose, 
They'll singe off your eyebrows and chop off your 

toes. 
They'll slice off your fingers and pull out your hair— ' 
You may cry all you want but the goblins won't 

care. 



- 4^ 



No more will you sleep in your own trundle be^ 
For the goblins will watch you to chop off your head 
If you try to escape to your babyhood joys — 
You must stay— 'tis the fate of all bad little boys. 
What! Is my Bobby crying? Is my Bobby sad? 
Is my Bobby sorry he's ever been bad? 
Well, there, there, there, Bobby! Now don't yo» 

feel blue — 
For of all this wild story not one word is true. 



- *r — 



TH' SWIMMIN' POOL. 

f know a place where I like to go, 
I know a place where it's cool, 

I know a place where the breezes blow — ■ 
Down at th' swimmin' pool. 

Over th' water th' shade is deep, 
Like to play hookey from school, 

An* jus' sneak away, skin off an' then leap 
Into th' swimmin' pool. 

Up on th' bank is a slippery slide. 
Crick sparkles jus' like a jewel. 

(Learned jus' last week to swim on my side, 
Down in th' swimmin' pool.) 

I know th' place, wanta come with me? 

Jump up behin' on th' mule, 
I'll kick him a bit, in a minnit we'll be 

Down in th' swimmin' pool. 



- 48 -» 




_ (ThA'PiH 



WHEN MOMMER'S SICK IN BED. 

Th' house is awful quiet, an' it's kinda lonesome too, 
I've been stayin' round ail mornin', there ain't a 

thing to do; 
I've gotta walk on tiptoe, that's what th' doctor said, 
An' not go 'way ner nothin', cause my mommer's 

sick in bed. 

It's a great ol' day fer fishin', bet th' perch down in 

th' crick 
Is bitin' just ferocious, get a lineful mighty quick, 
An' then I c'd go a-swimmin', Mom wouldn't see 

my head, 
An* she'd never know I'd been there, — she's awful 

sick in bed. 

I wonder ef she'd miss me, an' when I'd come 

sneakin' in, 
Just plumb tired out from swimmin' an' dirtier'n 

sin, 
I'd go upstairs an' find her, all pale an' white an' 

dead — 
Just as like as not to happen, 'cause she's clean 

down sick in bed. 



- 50 




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No, I guess I'll wash th' dishes an' clean things up 

right slick, 
I ain't never had much practice, but I'll catch on 

real quick. 
Then I'll take her up some apples, all juicy-like 

an' red, 
'Cause Mommer'd 'preciate it an' besides, she's sick 

in bed. 



52- 



SPEAKIN' TIME. 

I know my face is dirty, there's a spot right on my 

nose, 
An' how my knees is quakin'! May's lookin* at my 

toes. 
My feet won't stay together, my pants has lost their 

crease, 
I'm mighty derned uncomf'able — I've gotta speak 

a piece. 

Th' boy stood on th* burnin'^— doggone it, now I'ra 

stuck. 
I don't know ef he stayed there, or ef he run amuck. 
Oh, yes, I think I've got it, what word rhymes with 

perlice? 
I wisht I'd never went to school er had to speak a 

piece ! 



-53 



Course Ol* Bill is laffin', he never had to wear 

A shirt with ruffles on it, er had to comb his hair. 

I'll black his eyes termorrer, make his face swell up 

like yeas' — 
I jus' won't stand fer joshin' when I've gotta speak 

a piece. 



55 - 



NEXT WEEK. 

Aw, 'course, yuh beat me runnin', 
Think you're mighty smart an' pert. 

But yuh never would have did it 
IF 
My kneecap wasn't hurt. 

An' then yuh beat me jumpin'; 

V/ell, it wasn't your fault though. 
Cause I'd a-skinned you plenty, 
BUT 

A thorn was in my toe. 

Aw, yuh needn't get so fussy, 

Cause yuh saw that bird so high; 

I couldn't look at all then 
'CAUSE 
A bug got in my eye. 

But yuh jus' wait, 01' Smarty, 

Jus' wait a week an' then, 
I'll fix yuh good an' proper 
WHEN 

I git all right again. 



56 



THE LOP-EARED PUP. 

He was alius first up in th' mornin'. 

An' a tuggin' an' barkin' at me, 
To open my eyes an' be dressin' — 

There wasn't a time that I'd be 
More'n a couple er two er three minutes — 

Then a biscuit an' mebbe a sup 
O' coffee an' we'd be together, 

Jus' me an' my lop-eared pup. 

Through th' woods an' th' fields we'd wander. 

By th' lanky rail fence we'd run. 
As it stretched like a big caterpillar 

A-layin' asleep in th' sun. 
All a-sudden, he'd start out a-yelpin', 

As a scurryin' rabbit jumped up — 
There wasn't nobody else needed 

'Sides me an' th' lop-eared pup. 

I wonder if dogs go to heaven? 

I jus' hope to goodness they do. 
'Cause I don't want ever to be there 

If he can't come up with me too. 
Th' whole house seems lonesome an' weepy. 

What's that thing that jus' dropped in my cup? 
Golly, I guess I — I'm really a-cryin'— 

I shore miss my lop-eared pup. 



58 ~ 




; C'-t^-ZTPlN 



AFTER SCHOOL. 

Th' leaves is jus' a peepin'; Spring's right at her 
level best, 

My pore ol' heart's a thumpin', 'way down under- 
neath my vest, 

Breezes float in at th' window, a rufflin' up my hair; 

They make me wanta go an' lick them fellers over 
there 

That's fixin' up their tackle, startin' to th' fishin' 
pool. 

An' a-makin' fun o' me f er bein' kept in after school ! 

I guess I've wrote : "I won't be bad" a hundred mil- 
lion times. 

But still that dad-binged teacher ain't a showin' 
enny signs 

O' lettin' up a single bit ; by cricky, but I'm mad ! 

To see those fellers startin' fer th' best time ever had 

While I sit in here a-writin' : "A bad boy is but a 
fool." 

Aw, what's th' use o' tryin' — when you're kept in 
after school? 



- 61 - 



RETROSPECT. 

Just a bit of blue gingham, torn here and there. 

Two shoes that are scuffed at the toes, 
A box of toy blocks, dented deep from the wear 

Of a nursery's days and the blows 
Of tumbled down castles — a dirty paged book 

Marred by prints of a candy stained thumb; 
A picture or two, a toy dog, its look 

Is of sorrow, toy sorrow, and dumb. 

It is dusty in there, heavy cobwebs, neglect, 

Fast are wearing bright colors away, 
And the little lead army, once gaily bedecked. 

Now shows in a costume of gray. 
The fire engine too is inert on the floor, 

Its red turning brown from the rust. 
But as years catch the lock more fast in the door, 

Still those toys remain true to their trust. 



- 62 




— Ct+Af IN — 



For there day after day this valiant toy band, 

True as gold will abide to the last, 
Awaiting the touch of a babyish hand 

That they knew in the days of the past — 
Can they know, these poor things, all rusty and dim? 

What would they think should they learn? 
As they staunchly wait for the bright sight of him — 

That their master will never return? 



64 - 



DEC 12 1910 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

018 604 925 1 



